"Start Spreading the News ...."

Words fail to describe the sheer number of people who were in Times Square and walking along 7th avenue last night. I cannot believe so many people could actually be in the one place at the one time. We arrived in Penn Station at about 4 pm, and thanks to Mr Booking.com himself, our motel is directly across the road. We gave ourselves 45mins to have quick showers and find something to eat before getting to the theatre to see The Lion King, which brings me back to the business of the streets.

So with an hour to find some burgers, eat them and get to the theatre, the task sounds easy .... After visiting a couple of places who couldn't guarantee to eat within 30mins, we opted for the fastest place we knew ... McDonald's!!! Guess how long it took for us to get served .... 20mins!! Yes, we happened to eat in the busiest Maccas on the planet, we even had to wait for a table to become free. No problems, though, as we ate and arrived at the theatre in plenty of time.

What an AMAZING AMAZING show, and seeing The Lion King in New York made the evening even more spectacular. The woman who played "Rafiki" - the monkey was extraordinary, and the costumes and design aspects were simply astounding. The use of puppetry, including shadow puppetry coupled with a stage that tilted, used hidden trap doors and a spiral staircase was simply breathtaking. Wonderful memories.

A quick walk home through the slightly less busy streets and to bed for a great sleep. We managed to buy a few groceries for breakfast for George Calombaris to whip up something spectacular before our big day of walking. Our plan was to set off and make it to Central Park by lunchtime. With a 10 am start that was quite achievable. The streets were less busy; however there was soooo much happening, and so many shops (a big M & M store for the girls and a Desigual for me) and so many interesting stops and so many wee stops that we finally arrived after lunch around 1.30pm.

Central Park is huge. The girls had a great time, climbing over the big rocks, playing on the slides, and generally running around in open space, which is a luxury in a big city. In many movies, Central Park is known for the horse-drawn carriages. Well, we can confirm that these horses exist, and they are beautiful. After a few more rocks, photos at

the pond, and a bit more running, Christopher Columbus took us to a building straight across the road from the park, a three-level toy store. Miranda and Hayley had arrived in Heaven.

It was then a walk back to the motel along 5th avenue (where I happened to pop into Tiffanys, and no, no purchases) to get to the Supermarket to buy groceries for tonight's dinner and lunch tomorrow. Peter did a FANTASTIC job booking this motel (he seriously should go into the travel industry). It is equipped with a little kitchen (not kitchenette) and two rooms - a bedroom and lounge/living area. As such we picked up some fresh salmon, prawns and crunchy fish for the girls with salad for dinner; and yes George did a simply amazing job with two pans (you will have to wait for the photos). A bottle of wine, some nice beers, and a great dinner will allow us to rest, ready for another day of adventure.